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March 2011:A Crusade in Cartoons

At the very end of 1949 and beginning of 1950,Billy Graham came to New England to preach. This was just after the 1949 Los Angeles meetings which for the first time brought him extensive coverage in the national press. He held meetings in several Boston venues, including Mechanics Hall and the Boston Garden, each time to overflowing crowds. After leaving to preach at scheduled meetings in South Carolina, he returned in March to hold rallies throughout New England. In a little less than a month, Graham and his team held meetings in sixteen cities in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, all building up to a rally in Boston Commons on April 23 that drew at least 25,000

These meetings early in Graham's ministry had a feature perhaps unique. Graham would always draw crowds of reporters, but during the New England meetings, he also was the darling of cartoonists. Although it was not unusual later for newspapers and magazines to print cartoon or caricatures of Billy Graham, during these New England meetings papers seem to compete with each other to print drawings not just of Graham, but members of his team and ministers and other prominent local citizens who were participating. These cartoons do indeed capture the powerful energy of these campaigns.

This month's Bulletin Board includes several samples of these caricatures.